CIA releases new video aiming to recruit Chinese military officers
CBSN
The CIA has released a new Mandarin-language recruitment video aimed at Chinese military officers, portraying a fictional, mid-level People's Liberation Army officer grappling with corrupt leadership and ultimately choosing to contact the American intelligence agency. In:
The CIA has released a new Mandarin-language recruitment video aimed at Chinese military officers, portraying a fictional, mid-level People's Liberation Army officer grappling with corrupt leadership and ultimately choosing to contact the American intelligence agency.
The video is the latest installment in a public-facing recruitment campaign targeting China, which CIA Director John Ratcliffe has described as the agency's top intelligence priority amid what he has called a "generational competition" with Beijing.
In the short film, the central character watches as qualified officers are removed and replaced by political loyalists lacking military credentials. Troubled by what he sees as corruption, and concerned about the impact on his young family, the officer decides to reach out to the CIA.
"The main character's struggle represents the widely shared experience and values of those serving in the PLA," a CIA official told CBS News, referring to the People's Liberation Army. The video is meant to highlight what the agency describes as a growing gulf "between the Chinese elites who want what is best for their bank accounts and the Chinese citizens who want what is best for their country."
The campaign is not directed at Chinese President Xi Jinping personally, the official said, but at individuals inside China "who may feel deeply concerned about the direction their country is headed in but feel powerless to do anything about it."

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